Michele

Which diplomat? One of the US's? Or someone else? Anyone know? Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

I'm not sure I'd be mad. If he found what he was looking for, you'd be dealing with it. Since he hasn't found it (or you'd've said something, I think) then there's no reason to lose it and get pissed. Just sit back and gloat a little. My comment is simply if I wanted to make sure no-one ever went through my stuff, I'd have my own place, and I'd be the one holding the keys...and paying the rent. He did it once that you caught...he's likely gonna do it again. I think the better question is not to be pissed or not; rather, it's "Why are you home?" and "are you willing to live by their rules and behavior, or is it time to get out and set your own rules?"...just my opinion, however, and worth exactly nothing in your world... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

I don't really do the public humiliation thing - tends to be bad all the way around. I think it will be enough that I am there, walking the walk and talking the talk. If he's too insensitive to be aware of the comment made by my presence alone, he won't hear anything I said, would he? And it's been my experience that 'tis far better to demonstrate something than to say something. LOL, it's all good. And maybe I can learn something from him. Just because he can't/won't/whatever jump from a plane doesn't mean he can't contribute in other ways, you know? Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Luv back, Mujie... And you know, I will make it a point to find a copy of that book...I think I could prolly benefit from it, and I know my three could, as well. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Not hardly. Weird for adoring your pets? Weird for making sure that you give them everything that they need for a good life? Weird for taking responsibility for their health? Weird? I call Bullshit! Glad to hear he's gonna be o.k. And great to hear that his MujieMommy is taking good care of him. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Especially them. They rawk in Iraq...and we rawk here (Ah geez, don't mind me, it's been a long and emotional day...sigh.)... One idea I had was to make sure that families were "coddled" by us - if we work in the same area, lunch is great. Or invite them out to the dz for a barbque. Or cards and notes to them, let them know they're not alone, we're here. Stuff like that. Cultivate friendships, especially with new moms who might feel overwhelmed... OTOH, I really haven't got an idea of what they would need, because I have not been in that situation. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Hi, Mujie... yeah, Tron had it. Used to scream holy hell when he peed, and often there was blood in the urine. He had to be emergency treated several times for it. What finally worked for Tronster was more "real" food, and less processed stuff. Three times a week, I'd give him whatever protein souce I was eating - steak, chicken, eggs, whatever...as long as it wasn't fish. (Yes, it was cooked...) The other 4 days he'd get canned wet food, Friskies or whatever was on sale, one can split between three cats....BUT NEVER FISH! I made sure that his dry food was Iams, or Eukanuba. More expensive intially, but $350 per vet treatment made it far less, and that's not touching the fear and pain he used to experience. The trick is limiting his ash intake. And real food don't have ash (or at least I don't think it does...unless it gets badly burned on the grill...). Another thing I did was make sure he got a ton of water. I've honestly never heard of removing his penis (a penisectomy? Yikes!!!), and Tron was very ill. Making the urethra larger is dealing with a symptom, not addressing the illness, and I dunno how it would actually "cure" the problem. I mean, eventually, the crystals will be large enough to block that, as well, right? Talk to another vet. 2nd opinions are very important to humans, and for our four legged family members as well. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

I'm in, as well. How can I help, Lis? Say the word, and I'll manage it. And another thought, albeit a tad more involved...there are at least 2 who are either expecting or have recently had new additions, or families with young children. Is there maybe something we can do for the families, as well? Let them know we're here should they need it? It's gotta be really hard on them, and they are part of the family, too.. Just a thought. And Lis, you rawk. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Huh. Well, my broker decided to buy the seminar for me. I walked into the office and checked my box, and there, among faxes and other mail, was an envelope from him. Not expecting anything, I opened it, and out fell a registration form and a ticket stamped "paid/full"... Looks like I'm going. Dunno if I should hijack his seminar, but he'd best rewrite that part of his speil...cause I'll be right there to challenge him should the situation arise. Gently, of course. Ever so gently. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Hi, listo! Agreed 110%. I've seen video where my flare is uneven, but manage to stay straight and land "fairly well" (not on my feet, but on my rear bumpers instead of my face). I am curious as to your opinion as to this particular landing. Not landings and flares in general, but this one...and I agree, each landing is totally different and has it's own conditions to deal with every time. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

When my canopy is not in use, it lives in a cardboard box tucked away, covered by a towel and safely away from feline cuddles... I keep thinking of it as the "homeless canopy". Sigh...I really need to get gear. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

ROFL...well now, that's an idea. But it's a matter of $$ at the moment...if my broker pays for it, I will. If he doesn't, I dunno. That's money I could spend on gear, you know? LOL!!!!!!!!! But it would be fun. Might be something I'll have to consider. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Oh, Mandy, I will without doubt. I had fun with the folks there - even if one of them is named Yoyo...and even if I didn't jump. Tom the pilot is way cool, and was very "gentle" with me... I'll let you know. You and I have got to jump together - we keep missing each other, you know? Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Uh. Well....let's see. There were two tandems which showed. Two men...and allegedly there were two lost tandems. They called 4 times for directions, and never made it...from about 10 minutes away. The motivational guy didn't show. Or his nephew. Geez, who'd'a thunk it? Hee hee, I really can't bitch too much, because I didn't jump either, but hell, at least I don't say I'll do things and not do them. I was there...and they were not. Talk about commitment. I'll tell you about commitment... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

I have some goals, some which are doable, and some which are not necessarily doable...and I am not sure which is which. 1. To have 75 jumps by my birthday in May (8.66 jumps per month...) 2. To finally get all my gear together by the end of the year. 3. To have over 100 jumps by the end of the year 4. To go to one boogie away from Perris/Elsinore (but a small one). 5. To get my B license sometime soon... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Shark, you're not responsible for my decisions. How in the world could you ever be responsible for me and my life? LOL...and you're certainly not responsible for my weenie-ness. That's my problem, you know? Mouth, YES! you and I will jump. I am still waiting for the post 9/11 jaunt to the skies with you...and Cora, when you come out, we'll jump, too. Thanks, guys. I appreciate the support. Still this morning I'm sorta mad, but I also understand that I needed to be comfortable, wasn't comfortable, rode right seat in the plane to get more comfortable, and will be fine the next time I can escape down to Elsinore. I hope. (I do think the waiting really got to me...) I just didn't think that it would still happen...last time I was at the DZ and didn't jump was back in August, and that's because the wind conditions were not something I could handle...sigh...Elsinore has some features that I need right now, like a 2way skills camp, that I plan on taking advantage of, as well as new folk to meet and play with. It will do me good to explore a new DZ...and conquer the airweenie-ness which showed up yesterday (damnit, damnit damnit!!!) Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Good vibes to you, Gordo...and hugs, and prayers, and boobies and beer and dancing girls and whatever else I left out! Let us know what you need...and by god, you will get it! Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Yay Zelda...and Happy Birthday! It'll be good to get into the sky again! Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Weather report calls for gusts to 60 mph at Elsinore, but the website was showing 9 mph from the north, and Shark, who I had planned to meet, can't make it. Steve can't get there, either, so I debate...should I go? Or just stay home? For some weird reason, I'm not really in the mood to drive 90 miles through traffic and go play in the sky. Not been sleeping well, lots of work, whatever. But I think, well, that motivational guy may be there, and I'd hate to break my word to him...so I grab my canopy, get a coffee, and hit the road. 2 hours later, I pull into Elsinore, and go into the office. My waivers are there, so no real need to hang around and chat. I go over to the gear store, get the Infinity, and chat a little bit with Cama. She's nice and cheerful, and, even though it's Monday, she's smiling and having a good time. I get the gear, and hear load #2 taking off. I sit out on the patio in front of the packing area, and watch the canopies play in the sky, swirling, dancing, gently descending. I get my hair braided while watching the parade, loving this. John comes over and introduces himself, and asks if I'm going to do a tandem. I tell him no, I'm just new here, and ask if there are any packers. He tells me to talk to Yoyo. Yes, friends, this is a name that strikes immediate trust and security in the depths of my heart. Yoyo. There are very few people - a Korean 4 way with a coach, 2 tandems, one with video, and a fun jumper. I watch them set the landing pattern, and come on in. The winds are maybe 10-12, still out of the north, maybe 70 degrees, and the blue sky is calling my name. I walk around the landing area, and check things out. I figure out where I want to be at what altitude, and come back to the packing area. It's deserted. No one's around, and I wander a bit. I sit in the sun and smoke, just kinda wondering about how quiet it is. I see someone I think might be Yoyo, and go over and introduce myself. I find out his name is Mauro, like Paolo only not exactly, no-one can pronouce it correctly, so they call him Yoyo. He's nice, one of the instructors, and I feel like an idiot but I ask him if he'd pack up my canopy into the rented rig. He readily agrees, and I ask him to talk me through it while he packs. he has to unpack the canopy it is holding, detach it, attach mine, and then pack it up again. He gets this done in about 47 seconds, and sits back and laughs. He's a rigger and an instructor, so I pester him with questions. I'm nervous, and walk around the landing area again, trying to figure rotor zones and other safety things. Just trying to get my feet under me at a new DZ. It seems fine, lots and lots of room, smooth ground, and a big X where students are supposed to head towards. As that will be my landing area, I pay close attention to it, and talk myself through an imaginary landing pattern...think about Pammi's video, and rehearse my landing over and over. I am really feeling the nerves now. 2:30 - and still no-one is around. The Korean team has left for the day, and the one fun jumper has called it a day and started on the beer. I ask Yoyo if it's always this quiet, but he reassures me it's not. We don't have enough for a load, so we sit and talk; I hear all the other instructors' horror stories of bad students, bad landings, and bad canopies. I feel very apprehensive, very nervous, very not wanting to jump. But I am here, my rig's packed, and I should jump. Just get it over with. So what, it's a new DZ but I've jumped before. Where is this happy horseshit coming from? It's no different here than at Perris, other than the beautiful scenery and slow pace. That's what I wanted, damnit. So what the hell is wrong? 3:30. Two tandems show up, and a 30 minute call is announced. I look at Yoyo, and say "Dude, I don't think I can do this today. I've lost the mindset. I don't want to jump." Yoyo looks at me...and you can see the disbelief in his eyes. He can't believe I drove all that way, hired a rig for the day, manifested, and then...can't jump. He tries his best to encourage me, but now the 20 minute call comes...and I just don't want to jump. I go to take myself off the manifest (hoping it won't screw the two tandems...if it was going to, I was jumping...), and ask Kat if it would still go without me. "Sure, there's tandems. We're going whether or not you do". And then it occurs to me - I am scared because I don't know what it looks like from the air. It occurs to me that I am an airweenie, I am nervous about jumping at a new DZ by myself, and not knowing anyone, and not knowing what it looks like from the air...well, perhaps I can change one of those issues, so I ask about an observer ride. No problem, but I have to wear the gear...Tom, the pilot, agrees. I go get the gear on, and climb into the plane. The other four folks get in, and we are set. We taxi down the runway and lift off perfectly. I don't even realize we are up until we are suddenly smooth, and the ground is falling away. I am not an easy flier, so I clutch the dashboard, and look at Tom. He's grinning at my discomfiture, so I ease my grip and smile. It is beautiful up here - the world falling away, stretching away from me. Shadows are reaching down from the mountains, and, in the distance, I see the sun shining over the Pacific Ocean. Tom says "look down to your right, and you'll see the DZ perfectly." I do so, and see the whole thing, laid out as clear as can be. I see it perfectly, and understand I really could've seen this from the back of the plane, while climbing to altitude...I could've done this. I had forgotten that once I'm on the plane, I calm down. I had forgotten that every time I get this way, to some degree. I had forgotten that I can do this by myself, have done it by myself here, at Elsinore, at the first Chicks Rock! boogie...and that simply because there's no-one in the air with me shouldn't hold me back... And then I go back to sightseeing and listening to the chatter from the other pilots in the area. I listen to Tom caution them that tandems are jumping, to stay away. How very safe he is. And how reassuring it is to see this go on. It is beautiful up there, away from the ground. And I am furious at myself, seething. I turn to watch the jumpers leave - I've never seen tandems leave the plane before. It's weird - there they are, strapped together, and then poof - they're gone...and Tom's watching out the window to see the canopy open. We gently descend, banking slowly and again he shows me the DZ. I am wearing my alti, so I mentally go through sight frames and compare perceived altitude to actual alti - and I am right 3 out of 4 times, including the 300 foot call (I missed the 1500 foot check). It was a good idea to do this, I think, because next time I will be able to jump, knowing the sight pictures and trusting the pilot and the DZ. But damnit, I am furious at myself for not trusting in the first place...Airweenie strikes again... Sigh... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Somehow, this strikes me as really funny... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Within hours of the crash, there were some auctions regarding pieces of the debris. There is no confirmation that these were real, although people do weird shit all the time. Ebay is all over this, shutting down those sellers and reporting them to authorities. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

BC, you'll be there tomorrow? As in, February 3? Yes, you can rent gear at Elsinore. I expect to when I'm there tomorrow... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Hi, Roy I haven't heard them dismiss it; rather, there is a lot of speculation going on, and NASA is not necessarily going to indulge in it along with the rest. What I have heard is that they are taking this very seriously, and the foam damaging tile is being considered, but not as an only possiblity. Like Wendy and then Phree have said so wonderfully, I'll wait until there is definitive results from NASA...and at 36 hours after the tragedy, there really isn't anything definitive yet. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Hi, Pammi. So like I'm some sort of expert. (I mean, geesh, give a girl a canopy class, and she'll start spouting off all kinds of advice!) Please take the advice of folks who know over mine every day, o.k.? I watched this about 10 times, and slowed it/frame advanced it several times. I noticed a few things I'd like to share. 1. The others are right - your right arm is significantly lower than your left. I think that you're even leaning right a little - not square to the ground. because of this really faint tilt, you are not getting your feet under you at all. 2. It doesn't look like you get the speed bled off enough. This might have to do with the uneven flare, but I'm not sure (this is one of my worst problems). 3. You're touching down a little angled. Your left shoulder is slightly ahead of your right one, and your right leg is "sliding" under your left so that you end up sliding into the ground on your right side. 4. You're reaching for the ground a little bit. I mean, you're not letting it come to your feet, you're pushing your legs out and front. I do this a lot too...Jim says it's "sitting back". He told me to lean as if I was getting up out of a chair, instead of sitting into a chair. Last note. I am not sure you're getting a full flare, even with your arms extended. Something about the speed in which you're coming in makes me think this, but I really don't know. Is the canopy in trim? Can you stall it up high - to where you really slow/stop/drop? I couldn't see if there was deflection at full flight (it didn't look like it, but I really couldn't tell), and didn't see the change in angle of chute because of where Samantha was aiming (the canopy was not in the pix). If you can watch the good, stand-up landing and then this one, over and over, maybe you'll notice something you did/didn't do on the good one that you didn't do/did on this one. That's about all I saw. But don't take my word for anything when it comes to jumping - I haven't got a real idea what I'm watching. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

I worked all weekend...but tomorrow...tomorrow...yes, I shall fly in the skies above Elsinore. So who's coming? Ceils- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~